The glider that help win D-Day: The Airspeed Horsa

The Airspeed Horsa glider was a British designed glider of the Second World War. Constructed virtually entirely from wood, the Horsa would enter service in 1942. It would be utilized to drop troops in major operations during World War Two, including the invasion of Sicily, the Allied landings at Normandy, Operation Market Garden and the crossing of the River Rhine. Particularly during D-Day it would play an important role, helping to land troops behind the beachheads on the night before D-Day, allowing the capture of two strategically important bridges. In all between 3,800-4,000 Horsa gliders were built.

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Images and videos:
Imperial War Museum
Australian War Memorial
david glass / Operation Freshman memorial

Sources:
Books:
Fighting Gliders of World War II by James E. Mrazek
Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II

Websites:

Videos:

#ww2 #dday #aircraft #aviation #aviationhistory #history #ww2aircraft #planes #britishhistory #americanhistory #royalairforce #gliders #glider #military

[bigblue]

The actor Richard Todd played the commanding officer of the glider troops who captured Pegasus Bridge in the film 'The Longest Day.' Another actor played Richard Todd who happened to have taken part in the actual capture of Pegasus Bridge. Talk about preparing for a role.

[davidpeters]

My dad flew Halifax's from 1942 to '47 and I still have photo's he took when they were towing Horsa gliders.

[donfink]

Well done, and what a pleasant surprise. I've seen several YouTube videos that talked about the Horsa and in almost every one of them they were slagged it for breaking apart when landing. It was a long time ago, but I remember an uncle of mine (who flew in Horsa's during WW2) telling me how they could "Blow the arse of the bloody thing to unload heavy equipment quickly!" I'm afraid that too many people post videos on YouTube without doing the research they should do.

[letsseeif]

Thanks for your Airspeed Horsa video. Keep them coming.

[jsfbr]

Such a beautiful, well planned and built flying machine.

[StickandGlider]

Well put together! Thanks for keeping the history of gliders alive!

[anthonysheffield]

In addition to the Glider Pilot Regiment (trained by the RAF) the casualties due to Overlord and Market Garden required more pilots. In late 1944, the RAF then transferred 1 500 pilots (my father being one of them) to the three Heavy Glider Conversion Units to be trained. Training was carried out on three different types - Hotspur, Hadrian, and Horsa. The first two were used as initial trainers before going on to the MUCH bigger Horsa. Gliders used in the Rhine Crossing had one GPR and one RAF pilot. The RAF also created six squadrons of gliders in India. These were to be used in action during the reconquest of the Malayan peninsular, but the army advanced so quickly that training for the drops were overtaken by events. They were then to be used for the invasion of Japan. These six squadrons flew the Hadrian glider (the British name for the American WACO glider).
Fantastic collection of photos, by the way! Very useful as I'm building a model of a training Horsa that my Dad trained in.

[dereknelson-wills]

Another Horsa is currrently being restored ans is on display at the de Havilland museum, Salisbury Hall, Conley, UK. 0:15

[m.streicher]

I'm a simple man, I see a new aviation channel, I subscribe.

[mikepowell]

A replica of the nose section is under construction at the Jet Age museum, Staverton Airport, Gloucester. One use you missed was that after the war a Horsa airframe was used to aerodynamically test the nose shape of the Comet, the first jet airliner.

[VincentComet-le]

Interesting that De Havilland bought an interest in the Airspeed company in 1940, as they had extensive background and capabilities in making wooden aircraft.
And, also, that design of the Horsa was transferred to Salisbury Hall near Hatfield.
This, of course, is where the legendary all-wood Mosquito was designed and built, so it makes a lot of sense.
And it is interesting to speculate how much cross-fertilisation there might have been between the design teams.

[JohnBath-fp]

Cockpit and middle section of a AS51 Horsa military glider at the De Havilland Museum at Salisbury Hall Hertfordshire UK.

Great respect for my military counterparts in gliding. John. FAI/BGA 51417. 56 years flying and gliding experience in 2023.

[neiloflongbeck]

One of those tug aircraft, the Albermarle, was designed to meet an Air Ministry specification of 1938 for a medium bomber that did not rely on strategic materials (ie aluminium and aluminium alloys. De Havilland was asked to take part in the competition for this specification. De Havilland was unsuccessful, but later had the last laugh as the Albermarle suffered from lacklustre performance in it's intended role compared to the de Havilland Mosquito.

[whytebearconcepts]

On August 1, 1943 a glider demonstration when horribly wrong, when it crashed killing St. Louis mayor William Becker, Major William Robertson (whose company built the gliders) and 8 others. As a result, 200 of the gliders produced by Robertsons factory were grounded and it was discovered they used inferior wing mounts that resulted in the failure of the wing after release from the C-47 tow aircraft. The retrofitted gliders were used in the Normandy Invasion, it's not clear if those boarding them were aware of the crash that killed the company's CEO less than a year before.

[michaelegan]

Excellent research, as allways. Thank you for that!.

[jsfbr]

There is a partial replica of the Horsa in the basement of the Airborne Museum at Oosterbeek, Netherlands — a must for Operation Market Garden aficionados.

[andyisabeast]

My grandad flew one of these, he was in the army and they offered a extra tot of whiskey and a pound a week more pay or something like that. He jumped at it lol

[anthonysheffield]

Your description of the towing cables is incorrect: the MkI had the Y-shaped cable going to the main undercarriage, while the MkII had the single cable to the nose wheel,

[leifvejby]

One of the Horsas flew tests with a DH Comet cockpit section.

[stevenhoman]

Quite an attractive looking craft, and I wonder if its form was ever developed with an engine at any time? Even as an explosive laden missile.